Coroner and Death Certification Service

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will now announce their plans for the reform of the coroners, cremation and death certification systems.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My honourable friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Correctional Services and Reducing Reoffending (Paul Goggins), made a Written Statement in another place on Friday 12 March 2004 announcing a paper setting out the Government's position on the arrangements we propose to introduce to replace existing systems for the certification and investigation of deaths in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. A copy of this paper is available to Members in the House.

Feltham Young Offender Institution: Literacy Programme

Baroness Hilton of Eggardon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What were their reasons for withdrawing support form the Society of Voluntary Associates' literacy programme at Feltham Young Offender Institution; and
	What provisions there will be for literacy programmes at Feltham Young Offender Institution in future.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Her Majesty's Young Offender Institution Feltham has not withdrawn funding from the literacy programme set up by the Society of Voluntary Associates (SOVA). Although SOVA is withdrawing from Feltham, the literacy programme for 18 to 21 year-old offenders will continue and indeed expand in 2004–05, with even more effective targeting of the needs of these young people.

Anabolic Steroid Misuse

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their estimate of the number of people in the United Kingdom who are abusing anabolic steroids; and
	What steps they are taking to reduce the abuse of anabolic steroids.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The British Crime Survey figures for 2002–03 show that the prevalence of drug misuse from anabolic steroids was 0.1 per cent of the United Kingdom population aged 16 to 59.
	The Government are concerned about the misuse of anabolic steroids although the degree of prevalence in the UK is still very low. They are controlled as class C drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. In 2003, Customs and Excise seized just over 300,000 steroid tablets. The Talk to Frank website highlights the risks of using steroids. The use and misuse of all drugs, including steroids, is covered under substance misuse programmes in schools.

Youth Sport Trust: DfES Support

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will provide details of the contractual arrangements in place between the Youth Sport Trust and the Department for Education and Skills.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: The Department for Education and Skills is funding the Youth Sport Trust to:
	provide support to aspiring sports colleges and those already within the programme; this work is currently overseen by the Secretary of State's financial memorandum with the Youth Sport Trust and a grant letter, and work is carried out in accordance with the programme's delivery plan;
	provide development support for academies; this work is currently overseen by a grant letter;
	provide development support within the School Sports Partnerships programme; this work is currently overseen by a grant letter and carried out in accordance with the programme's delivery plan;
	co-ordinate and contribute to the gifted and talented work strand within the national PE, school sport and club links strategy. The work is currently being overseen by a letter of intent and is being carried out in accordance with the programme's delivery plan.
	From April 2004, it is intended that all these areas of work will be brought under one financial memorandum.
	The Departments for Education and Skills and for Culture, Media and Sport have also appointed the Youth Sport Trust to co-ordinate the United Kingdom's participation in the 2004 European Year of Education through Sport. This work is being overseen by a grant letter and the arrangements for the year stipulated by the European Commission.
	In addition, the Youth Sport Trust is part of the consortium (the British Association of Advisers and Lecturers in Physical Education, the Physical Education Association of the United Kingdom, Sports Coach UK and the Youth Sport Trust) which successfully tendered, via an open competition, to develop and manage the PE and school sport professional development programme. The consortium is currently working under a letter of intent, while a contract for the programme is negotiated, and is being carried out in accordance with the programme's delivery plan.

School Sport Partnerships

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the analysis in the report The Impact of School Sport Partnerships has been independently verified; and
	What assessment was made of the quality of physical education and school sport provision in the report entitled The Impact of School Sport Partnerships.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: The analysis of the data reported in The Impact of School Sport Partnerships was undertaken by Taylor Nelson Sofres, an independent market research company.
	For the purposes of the 2003–04 Physical Education, School Sport and Club Links Survey schools have assessed for themselves whether the physical education and school sport provision they offer pupils represents high quality. Clear guidance was provided to schools to help them make this judgment including the definition of high quality physical education and school sport within Learning through PE and Sport (DfES/DCMS March 2003).

Physical Education Teachers

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What effect the number of specialist physical education teachers will have on the ability of the Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to achieve their targets for increasing access to high quality physical education and school sport.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: Specialist physical education (PE) teachers have a crucial role to play in the delivery of high quality PE and school sport for our young people. The Government's PE, school sport and club links strategy complements and runs alongside the school workforce reform agenda. The Department for Education and Skills has secured 300 additional initial teacher training places in PE for the three years from 2003–04. This, along with healthy levels of PE teacher recruitment and retention, will ensure that sufficient trained specialist PE teachers are available to help deliver the Government's commitment to increase access to high quality PE and school sport.

Physical Education: Obese and Overweight Pupils

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What advice is available for schools regarding the provision of suitable high quality physical education to obese and overweight pupils.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: The Qualification and Curriculum Authority's Physical Education and School Sport Investigation—one of the work strands within the national physical education school sport and club links strategy—is identifying and disseminating guidance and examples of best practice to help schools provide high quality physical education to all pupils. A number of the case studies published as part of the investigation are designed to help schools address health issues including providing physical education for obese or overweight pupils. In addition, all modules within the professional development work strand of the national strategy seek to promote inclusion and the differentiation of provision to meet the individual needs of pupils.

A27

Lord Baker of Dorking: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will place in the Libraries of both Houses any correspondence that they have had with the Highways Agency about the A27 since 4 August 2003.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Correspondence from the Highways Agency is internal departmental correspondence and contains policy advice to Ministers. As such, it would be contrary to Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information to place such correspondence in the House Libraries.
	Ministers have recently reached a decision on the proposals for improvement to the A27 Southerham to Beddingham. Details of this announcement are available on the DfT website. A copy of the preferred route decision letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses as soon as this is available. Further work is in progress on options for improvements to other parts of the A27 and local consultation will be carried out before decisions on the way forward are taken.

Railway Stations

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What consideration they have given to bringing Britain's railway stations back under public control; and whether they expect to make an announcement in the current parliamentary session.

Lord Davies of Oldham: We have no plans to bring Britain's railway stations back under public control. However, management of stations is being considered as part of the rail review announced by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport on 19 January.

Network Rail

Lord Bowness: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Who is responsible for the oversight of Network Rail and its financial procedures.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Network Rail is a private sector company limited by guarantee. This means that the company's board is accountable to 116 members, drawn from the rail industry and other rail stakeholders. Network Rail is also subject to independent economic regulation by the Rail Regulator.

Network Rail

Lord Bowness: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What procedures are in place to ensure that the best market price is achieved for the disposals of land surplus to requirements of Network Rail; and
	Whether it is the policy of Network Rail to dispose of surplus land for social housing for less than market value.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Network Rail is regulated by the Rail Regulator. Network Rail's network licence includes a condition, which prevents the disposal of land by Network Rail unless the regulator consents to the disposal. Where consent is given the decisions on whether, when and how land should be disposed are commercial ones for Network Rail.

Occupational Pensions

Baroness Greengross: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will provide a detailed breakdown of the costs associated with recompensing those whose occupational pension scheme has collapsed; and, if so, how much it would cost to give (a) 100 per cent compensation for those aged over state retirement age; (b) 75 per cent compensation for those aged over 50 to state retirement age; (c) 50 per cent compensation for those aged 35–49; and (d) 25 per cent compensation for those aged up to 34 at the time of their occupational scheme's collapse; and
	How many people have been affected by the collapse of their occupational pension scheme; how many schemes have collapsed in the past 30 years; and what was the age breakdown of those affected at the time of their scheme's collapse.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: This information is not available. The currently available source of information on pension schemes is the Pension Schemes Registry, which is administered by the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (Opra). Its database does not allow us to identify figures on the number of occupational pension schemes that have started to wind up or that have wound up underfunded; the solvency position of the sponsoring company; or the age breakdown of members affected.
	We are exploring with industry representatives the basis on which we can establish firm estimates of the extent of the problem of defined benefit schemes winding up underfunded, the numbers affected and the potential scale of losses.

Horse Passports

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they set up the system for issuing horse passports, what consideration they gave to smaller organisations not registered for VAT and consequently not able to reclaim VAT on expenditure on items used to prepare the passports; and
	Whether they will arrange for VAT exemption on the materials used in the production of horse passports undertaken by organisations too small to be registered for VAT; and
	Whether they will arrange for private horse owners to reclaim VAT on horse passports to bring them into line with commercial owners; and
	Whether they will instruct Customs and Excise to exempt horse owners who have not yet had their 18th birthday from paying VAT on horse passports; and
	Whether horse passports, which remain the property of the Passport Issuing Organisation, are covered by VAT Notice 700, 4.4, in which supply of goods is defined as the passage of exclusive ownership to another person; and
	Whether horse passports are covered by VAT Notice 700, 4.5 when they are neither hired nor lent, do not confer a right and are considered by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs not to be a licence.[HL1833]bjc

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: I understand from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs that a decision to apply to become a passport-issuing organisation is a commercial and operational matter for the organisation making the application. VAT registration was not specifically considered during the consultation exercise carried out regarding the proposal to extend passports to all horses, nor was it raised in any of the responses to that consultation.
	In respect of VAT there are two issues: the supplier of the passports and the horse owner. For the supplier, Customs and Excise's Public Notice 700 paragraph 4.4 explains what is meant by a supply of goods for VAT purposes. Paragraph 4.5 of that notice explains what is meant by a supply of services. Issuing a horse passport is regarded as a supply of services for VAT purposes. Long-standing formal agreements with our European partners allow us to keep our zero rates as they currently stand but do not allow us to extend them or introduce new ones. Article 13 of the sixth VAT Directive lays down mandatory exemptions and does not permit exemption for this type of supply. We are therefore unable to introduce any new VAT relief either for the issuing of horse passports or for the materials used in their production.
	For horse owners these European agreements also mean that VAT incurred on purchases can only be reclaimed when it relates to taxable business activities. Private owners will therefore be unable to reclaim any VAT incurred in purchasing a horse passport.

Income Tax and National Insurance

Baroness Noakes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will adopt the simplification proposals for Pay As You Earn and National Insurance Contributions contained in the British Chamber of Commerce's report A New Tax Horizon: How to Simplify Britain's Payroll Tax System.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: There are no plans for the structural alignment of income tax and National Insurance. The Inland Revenue, however, continues to work with employer representatives and others to look for opportunities to align the income tax and National Insurance rules at a practical level while having regard to the need to protect the individuals' benefit entitlement.

Film Production Tax Relief

Lord Trefgarne: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Answer by the Lord Davies of Oldham on 4 March (HL Debs, cols. 769–771), whether they have anything further to add about film production tax relief.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Budget on 17 March that Section 48 relief for low-budget British qualifying films, which is due to expire on 1 July 2005, will be replaced by a new relief for production expenditure. The relief will go directly to the film-maker and will typically fund 20 per cent of the budget, compared with the 15 per cent typically funded by Section 48.

Wind Farms

Lord Dixon-Smith: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What investigations they are carrying out into the health of persons living in the vicinity of wind farms.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The Government believe that the existing planning guidelines on the siting of wind turbines are sufficient to protect human health. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has already reviewed published research on low frequency noise and its effects, although this did not look specifically at health issues or low frequency noise from wind turbines. The Department of Health will consider whether any further work in this particular area is required.

Sub-post Offices: South Tyneside

Lord Dixon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps they have taken to measure the accuracy of information relating to proposals to close sub-post offices in the South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough area.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The public consultation process enables any factual inaccuracies in the proposals to be identified and Postwatch closely monitors every individual closure proposal including factual accuracy of information from a consumer perspective.

Sub-post Offices: South Tyneside

Lord Dixon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assessment they have made of the implications on social care and health of closing sub-post offices in the South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough area; and
	What discussions they have had with the local authority and any other organisations in the area before any closure of sub-post offices in the South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough area is proposed.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: These are operational matters for Post Office Ltd and I have asked the chief executive to respond direct to the noble Lord.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

The Countess of Mar: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In the light of the letter from the Lord Warner to the Countess of Mar of 11 February 2004 in which he stated "The second edition of the WHO Guide to Mental Health and Neurology in Primary Care will have only one ICD 10 code for CFS/ME – this is G93.3," why, under the heading, "Terminology and concepts", CFS/ME is not mentioned under G93.3 but the statement, "The terms 'Post viral fatigue syndrome' and '(benign) myalgic encephalomyelitis' (classified under G93.3 'neurological disorders') have been used where there is excessive fatigue following a specific trigger . . .", appears in the second edition.

Lord Warner: In the Second Edition of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre Guide to Mental and Neurological Health in Primary Care there is a section headed "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS or CFS/ME -G 93 .3)". Within the body of the text, there is a paragraph headed "Terminology and concepts" which briefly summarises the reasons why terminological differences have arisen. The Collaborating Centre amended this second edition in the light of concerns expressed over the terminology used in the first edition. This explanatory text does not detract from the fact that there is now only one ICD code for CFS/ME, which is G93.3.